Icebreakersor Conversation starters Introductory activities Building early interaction in classes Icebreakers make me shudder Yes, icebreakers can sometimes feel awkward. However, at their core they are ultimately a chance to help
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Presentation Transcript
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Icebreakers…or… …Conversation starters …Introductory activities …Building early interaction in classes<br>
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Icebreakers make me shudder… Yes, icebreakers can sometimes feel awkward.
However, at their core they are ultimately a chance to help students get to know each other - and their staff members - in a relaxed, friendly and safe way.
Hopefully the icebreakers are…
…building a sense of connection with each other / belonging in the module
…fostering a more positive learning environment for the rest of the semester<br>
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The resource is by no means exhaustive Shared in these few slides are examples of icebreakers that have been used by Good Start Ambassadors and lecturers, and some collected from other institutions.
These activities aim to support a safe environment – often by initially encouraging small group activities rather than whole class conversations, and not placing students in situations where they feel pressurized to share information they consider too personal
To delve more, much is available across the sector about the value of class introductions, including the idea of a ‘Relentless Welcome’, Importance of induction, and the practicalities of icebreakers. Some of the best icebreakers / introductory activities are ones personalised to the situation – we’d like to collect examples of how you’ve adapted or developed your own to share with others. Let us know: Good.StartCork@mtu.ie<br>
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Some quick and basic icebreakers<br>
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Introductions
Pair Up
Name?
Something you’re proud of & why?
Why you chose MTU / this course?<br>
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Introductions
Speed Friending
Introduce yourself to many people as you can in the room and tell them a little about yourself.
Allocate 2mins per ‘round’<br>
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Introductions
Pair Up
Tell your partner what your favourite TV show is and why… take some notes because you’ll be telling the group about their favourite show.<br>
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Team Building
In Groups:
Find 10 things that you have in common with the other people in your group.<br>
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Team Building
The 3 Ps:
Share three facts about themselves:
something personal
something professional
something peculiar
The personal fact doesn’t need to be anything too personal—perhaps something as simple as a country they’ve always wanted to travel to.<br>
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Introductory activities with a course-connection<br>
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Course related
Living Likert Scale:
Gets learners thinking where they and their peers stand on a variety of topics.
Have numbers 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree) written individual pieces of paper and placed around the room
Pose a series of statements related to your subject and have students move to the number according to their stance.<br>
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Course related
Class in one word:
Ask students to share their perceptions of your discipline in one word e.g. complicated, analytical, enjoyable.
This could be done anonymously (via sticky notes) or, for a smaller group, as a round-the-class.
It can be a good way to see who is thinking similar to me and that there re different views of the same subject.<br>
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Course related
Media and Module collision:
Find a short news article, YouTube clip, or similar media that has some relationship to the module.
Hand out or share the media resource with the class
Create small groups (3-4 students) and ask them to identify what they anticipate learning in this module that relates to the media shared.
This can be a good way to introduce the module descriptor / main elements of course content in a less direct way.<br>
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Course related
Kahoot Quiz:
Use an online quiz tool, such as Kahoot, to set up a short quiz
Questions can be connected to the course, to MTU, or more broad / topical
Have the students use a mobile device to move through the questions
A small prize could be on offer for the winner – contact the Good Start team if you’d like to have a ‘goody bag’ for a prize.<br>
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Icebreaker Games
Name? Something you’re proud of & why? Why you chose CIT?
Speed Friendship
5 things in common with your group
3 fun facts / 2 truths & 1 lie
Ball throwing (multiple) in a circle, calling out names to catch
Guess who
Describe & draw (back to back)
Kahoot quiz<br>
